[...] that seemed a tough sell in the House, where Speaker Joe Straus criticized it as bad for business and the governor's previous failure to weigh in offered no cover for would-be supporters. Abbott's blessing only came after the House said it was setting aside the Senate bill and instead advancing one prohibiting policies seeking to protect transgender rights in public bathrooms without specifically addressing birth-certificate gender. The Senate already approved the bill, which has been bitterly opposed by immigrant rights groups, civil liberties organizations and top Texas sheriffs. The House modified the Senate's version, only allowing police to inquire about immigration status if someone is arrested, rather than simply being detained. On Thursday, a panel of three federal judges in San Antonio will hold a hearing in the ongoing lawsuit challenging Texas' state and congressional maps for the 2018 election. In less than a month, now, Texas' voter ID law, congressional maps and state legislative maps, all enacted in 2011, have been found to violate the U.S.